Nigerian Population in United States by City : 2025 Ranking & Insights

According to the latest U.S. Census estimates, the Nigerian population in the United States stands at 638,848 individuals. New York contains the largest Nigerian community with 32,646 residents, followed by Houston (22,304) and Chicago (13,493), with many other cities across the country home to active Nigerian communities of varying sizes. This nationwide ranking highlights how Nigerian populations are distributed across American cities, offering a broader view into their settlement patterns and regional diversity.

Top 5 cities with the largest Nigerian population in United States

View All
  • 1
    New York
    Nigerian population in New York is 32,646
    0.38% of New York population is Nigerian
  • 2
    Houston
    Nigerian population in Houston is 22,304
    0.97% of Houston population is Nigerian
  • 3
    Chicago
    Nigerian population in Chicago is 13,493
    0.50% of Chicago population is Nigerian
  • 4
    Brooklyn borough
    Nigerian population in Brooklyn borough is 11,103
    0.42% of Brooklyn borough population is Nigerian
  • 5
    Queens borough
    Nigerian population in Queens borough is 8,651
    0.37% of Queens borough population is Nigerian

U.S. Cities by Nigerian Population : National Rankings

View Methodology
American Community Survey data [1] show significant Nigerian populations in leading metropolitan areas, including New York, Houston, Chicago, and Brooklyn borough, while numerous other incorporated cities recorded minimal or zero residents identified as Americans who trace their ancestry of Nigeria. The table below provides broader statistics, including total population figures, density measures, and demographic distributions based on current ACS data for all incorporated cities included in this analysis*.
cities in United States ranked by Nigerian population count
Rank by Nigerian Population
City
Nigerian Population
% of Total City Population
% of Total United States Nigerian Population
5 Year Rank Trend
1 New York 32,646 0.38% 5.11%
2 Houston 22,304 0.97% 3.49%
3 Chicago 13,493 0.50% 2.11%
4 Brooklyn borough 11,103 0.42% 1.74%
5 Queens borough 8,651 0.37% 1.35%
6 Bronx borough 8,064 0.57% 1.26%
7 Los Angeles 7,474 0.19% 1.17%
8 7,378 0.57% 1.15%
9 7,047 2.29% 1.10%
10 6,163 0.39% 0.96%
11 5,261 1.33% 0.82%
12 4,276 0.74% 0.67%
13 4,222 0.63% 0.66%
14 3,813 0.39% 0.60%
15 3,600 0.40% 0.56%
16 3,584 0.54% 0.56%
17 3,579 1.80% 0.56%
18 3,575 0.38% 0.56%
19 3,176 1.06% 0.50%
20 2,999 4.99% 0.47%
21 2,958 0.63% 0.46%
22 2,873 4.76% 0.45%
23 2,478 0.15% 0.39%
24 2,450 0.56% 0.38%
25 2,422 0.15% 0.38%
26 2,406 0.49% 0.38%
27 2,363 0.30% 0.37%
28 2,313 4.00% 0.36%
29 2,291 0.24% 0.36%
30 2,022 0.23% 0.32%
31 1,985 0.40% 0.31%
32 1,920 0.13% 0.30%
33 1,816 0.29% 0.28%
34 1,802 0.86% 0.28%
35 1,770 0.84% 0.28%
36 1,756 0.69% 0.27%
37 1,579 2.09% 0.25%
38 1,561 2.26% 0.24%
39 1,529 0.53% 0.24%
40 1,526 1.63% 0.24%
41 1,470 0.21% 0.23%
42 1,428 0.25% 0.22%
43 1,385 0.73% 0.22%
44 1,344 0.26% 0.21%
45 1,336 1.27% 0.21%
46 1,333 2.92% 0.21%
47 1,268 0.99% 0.20%
48 1,259 1.49% 0.20%
49 1,229 8.27% 0.19%
50 1,221 0.27% 0.19%
51 1,191 1.39% 0.19%
52 1,180 0.58% 0.18%
52 1,180 0.09% 0.18%
53 1,179 0.32% 0.18%
54 1,159 0.40% 0.18%
55 1,113 0.16% 0.17%
56 1,101 0.16% 0.17%
57 1,097 0.36% 0.17%
58 1,090 0.13% 0.17%
59 1,055 1.25% 0.17%
60 1,050 0.17% 0.16%
61 1,048 1.28% 0.16%
62 1,039 0.25% 0.16%
63 1,010 3.41% 0.16%
64 1,004 2.85% 0.16%
65 994 0.32% 0.16%
66 991 0.48% 0.16%
67 988 1.49% 0.15%
68 983 0.67% 0.15%
69 961 0.19% 0.15%
70 929 0.19% 0.15%
71 909 0.31% 0.14%
72 901 0.21% 0.14%
73 884 0.28% 0.14%
74 880 0.49% 0.14%
75 878 0.22% 0.14%
76 870 0.30% 0.14%
77 864 0.26% 0.14%
77 864 0.09% 0.14%
78 860 0.12% 0.13%
79 855 0.85% 0.13%
80 845 0.78% 0.13%
81 843 1.11% 0.13%
82 841 1.43% 0.13%
83 821 0.17% 0.13%
84 819 0.46% 0.13%
85 816 0.63% 0.13%
85 816 3.23% 0.13%
86 794 0.53% 0.12%
86 794 0.25% 0.12%
87 793 0.32% 0.12%
87 793 0.72% 0.12%
88 783 0.14% 0.12%
89 782 3.18% 0.12%
90 780 0.69% 0.12%
91 775 8.11% 0.12%
92 752 0.27% 0.12%
93 750 0.63% 0.12%
94 742 2.83% 0.12%
95 739 0.35% 0.12%
Need the complete table? Full rankings and the underlying data sets for California and other locations are available for purchase or license.

Methodology

This ranking list is based on data from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS is one of the most reliable sources for understanding population trends across different locations, and it provides estimates for various racial and ethnic groups at city, county, state and all geography levels down to the Census block group.
This list ranks city in United States by their Nigerian population, using the most recent ACS data available.

How the Census defines Nigerian population

The U.S. Census Bureau allows people to self-identify their ancestry, meaning individuals can write upto ancestries when responding to the survey. In this ranking, we include everyone who identifies as having Nigerian ancestry, whether alone or in combination with another ancestry.
Here are a few important things to know about how ancestry is reported:
  • Some people identify as Nigerian alone, while others identify as Nigerian along with another race (such as Nigerian and German).
  • We’ve used the “Nigerian alone or in any combination” category unless noted otherwise, which gives a broader picture of the Nigerian population in each area.

How We Ranked the Data

This ranking is based on the total number of people who identified as Nigerian alone or in combination in city. To provide additional context, we’ve also included two key percentages:
  1. % of Total City Population – This shows what percentage of the total state population identifies as Nigerian .
  2. % of Total United States Nigerian Population – This tells us how much of the entire U.S. Nigerian population lives in that state.
To keep things simple, all population numbers have been rounded to the nearest whole number, and percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Because of rounding, some percentages may not add up to exactly 100%.

Things to Keep in Mind

Like all survey-based data, ACS estimates come with some limitations. Here are a few things to be aware of:
  • In places with very small Nigerian populations, the numbers may not be reported at all due to privacy protections or sampling variability in the survey.
  • Since the ACS is based on a sample, the numbers are estimates, not exact counts. That means they may slightly differ from other sources like the decennial U.S. Census.
  • City that don’t have any reported Nigerian population are not included in the ranking but are listed separately below for reference.
This ranking is meant to provide a clear, data-driven look at where Nigerian populations are most concentrated while keeping the numbers easy to understand.

Sources

  1. 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.
  2. 2023.